Damage-Control Thoracic Surgery

Abstract

Sometimes the victims of thoracic trauma necessitate measure to control thoracic damage. The aims of the thoracic damage-control are the correction of hypothermia, acidosis, and coagulpathy, and the strategy consists of making minimum necessary interventions (to stop bleeding and to control the contamination) in a very short time, and making the patient to obtain physiologic normality before a definitive re-intervention. Damage-control for thoracic injuries can be done either to provide rapid but definitive repair of heart, lung and esophageal injuries, or to perform temporary measures that precede a planned operation for a definitive repair. The primary objectives of damage-control thoracotomy are to release cardiac tamponade, control intrathoracic bleeding, control massive air embolism or bronchopleural fistula, permit open cardiac massage and to allow for cross-clamping of the descending aorta.